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BEST Sailing Tech Gifts for Father's Day
7 June 2025 · 8 min · 8K views
What this video covers
Fathers at a local sailing club named a Type 5 inflatable PFD as their top gear want. The Mustang hydrostatic inflatable with integrated sailing harness auto-inflates after submersion in 4 or more inches of water, fits a range of body sizes, and costs about $379. For a handheld VHF, the Standard Horizon HX890 earns the recommendation: IPX8-rated waterproofing, a built-in GPS, DSC distress messaging with automatic coordinate transmission, a floating design with water-activated strobe, and a street price around $200. Handheld GPS options split by budget — the Garmin GPSMAP 86SCI ($700) carries preloaded Blue Chart G3 coastal charts combining Garmin and Navionics data, Iridium satellite two-way texting via subscription, and remote control of compatible Garmin autopilots and Fusion Marine stereos; the Garmin GPS73 ($150) offers monochrome heading and speed readout favoured on race boats for simplicity and low replacement cost. A Davis rigging knife under $50 rounds out the list, with the marlin spike, shackle key, and lanyard hole identified as the three features that separate a rigging knife from a generic blade.
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